Basashi: Eating Raw Horse Meat

And as the title of this post may have led you to believe, yes, it is what the Japanese call raw horse meat (and yes, it is for eating).

It is a speciality in Kumamoto, on Japan’s island of Kyushu, and luckily for me, Kumamoto is where I have found myself hanging around recently.

After enjoying a delicious, but less than filling bit of falafel (yes, I found falafel), I inquired with falafel-maker-san asking if he knew of a good place to get me some basashi. And it turns out I asked just the right guy. He directed me to a place a few blocks away where they had, “very good, but kind of expensive” basashi.

I figured if I was going to eat raw horse meat, then it had might as well be good raw horse meat; so I was actually rather glad to hear that it was not going to be the McDonald’s of raw and potentially dangerous meats.

THE TASTE

Not quite as tender as fish.

Typically basashi is dipped in soy sauce and served with garlic or Japanese horseradish (only fitting).

So what does it taste like?

Well, basashi is served cold (near-frozen in the middle), and is intended to be eaten this way (has something to do with deadly bacteria).

I could not help but imagine myself eating a horse the entire time I was chewing (an idea that American society has arbitrarily taught me to be wrong), and this surely had some effect on my opinion of the taste. If I believed that I was eating some other animal, then I might have felt differently about the flavor.

I guess I will just have to go eat more basashi goodness to know for sure.

CONCLUSION

The man who popped my cherry.

If you can get over the mental hurdle of imagining yourself chowing down on a little pony, then the “disgusting factor” is relatively non-existent. Sure, you may have been taught growing up that eating or even handling raw meat is not something to be taken lightly, but ultimately you are not going to be served something that is going to kill you – so eat it.

For all my kosher friends out there, basashi is quite literally the opposite of what you would typically be permitted to eat (but hey, at least there’s no dairy), but should you (kosher or not) find yourself willing to take a chance with some exciting new food, then get yourself some raw horse meat.

Our chef came out to the table and talked with us a bit about Japan and our now consumed meal. He was incredibly grateful to falafel-maker-san for having recommended the restaurant to us, and he wished us well on the our continuing Japanese journeys.

“Now you can no more ride horse” he says as we are about to walk out the door. Funny guy this one, funny guy.

IF YOU LIKED THIS POST, PLEASE SHARE IT!

Related

Thanks, Susan. I don’t know what “getting very I’ll” is, but it sounds like fun! Whatever it is, I’m certain it has to do with being accepting of other cultures. Hooray horse meat!

Paula Martin

Your a fucking idiot, enjoy eating the bute full horse meat, you deserve to get as sick as possible and die of cancer. So your answer is that, cancer is very ill, but your to ignorant to understand that, good.

Read some of Paula’s comment history. Dealing with a real brainiac here.

Kimberly

You’re an uneducated moron, research your facts idiot. Horses are not food, nor are dogs and cats. But other cultures eat anything, proably they’re own kids. Other countries torture animals before they’re slaughter them, they’re sicko’s. PERIOD. Are you lacking attention, you need a hug?

Tina

“Halfway Anywhere” obviously has no idea that horses are not bred for consumption, in fact they are loaded with drugs not suitable for humans to ingest. Furthermore, he does not know of the horrendous process it takes to get the horse meat (family owned pets are stolen, sick horses are sold to evil kill buyers who illegally transport horses across borders, race horse industry continue to overbreed and discard unwanted horses, PMU horses are forced to stand in a stall for most all of their lives to collect their urine for drug companies, horses are inhumanely slaughtered still alive). Poor guy is so misinformed. Pray for the selfish misinformed. This type of ignorance can be changed if more people speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. By doing this, it will save and improve lives for humans and horses. I’m all for appreciating other cultures, but that doesn’t mean their practices are good for our health and souls. Live AND LEARN Halfway and you will go further than Halfway!

Tina! Thank you so much for your insight. It’s wonderful to see people voicing their opinions on the free and open forum of the internet. I now see the error in my ways. My decision to illegally traffic defeated racehorses across international borders to be sold to evil kill buyers and turned into meat (delicious, drug loaded meat) was perhaps not my best.

Glad to hear you’re praying for me and the rest of us selfish misinformed.

<3

Johmbe

Any actual real world proof to back this up, or should we just assume you are the horse meat expert sheriff of the internets? You know some cows, pigs and chickens are treated inhumanly, and then some aren’t. If I write an blog about eating bacon how do you know which one I consumed, Tina? Seems like you might be the ignorant one.

Paula Martin

Screw that ( putting it mildly), If I had to eat horse meat I would starve to death, and I don’t care what culture your from , we don’t eat our horses !!!!! People that do deserve to choke on their food and die.

Hi Paula! Thanks for your comment. Of course we don’t eat OUR horses, we eat other people’s horses (duh); however, this is undoubtedly a very complex topic and so I can understand where you might have misunderstood.

Also, I don’t quite understand how you would manage to starve to death if you had to eat horse meat (meat is quite filling, after all), but I do find your outburst incredibly entertaining. Thanks for giving me a reason to smile today 🙂

ziggypop

Why are you not talking about all the drugs in horse meat, that are not for human consumption? And why have you not done your research as to the appalling conditions horses are forced to endure to the slaughterhouse.

And if you have never been to horse slaughter house to see how mercilessly and the horrendous suffering they must face, you have no business promoting their meat.

Yum taste like butte and other drugs from that horse. Stop eating our horses morons!

Letty Grayson

I just compiled a document for three Senate meetings comparing products available online with FDA banned substances. banned in the sense that they may not be used in horses that are consumed by humans. I used a popular online source for horse owners and veterinarians. you can joke and eat all you wish but the danger is very real. horses are repeatedly given these substances throughout their lifetimes, unlike cattle, hogs etc. It amazes me that we know these substances are unsafe and won’t allow the meat to be sold in the US, but we allow the horses to be exported and eaten elsewhere. AA is quite rare and incurable, yet it is 3x more prevalent in Japan than in the US. One of the banned drugs is known to cause AA. eventually the US will catch up to the problem and stop exporting horse meat. until then ?????

Bob

Sounds interesting, when I’m over in Japan I might try it out! Although I’m a bit hesitant about eating raw meat of any kind. Maybe I’ll stick to cooked horsemeat. (Besides, chances are some of the “meat” I’ve eaten in pies or burgers probably contains some percentage of horse)

And to all the horse lovers, unless you’re vegan who grows all of their own crops on their own land, you’re being hypocrites. I love it when someone tells me how horrible eating dog/horses/cats are, while chowing down on a burger made from the meat of a cow that likely suffered horribly before being slaughtered for food…

Yeah it is different. Sah as in saying the word “tzar” without the “r”. Or else, it might sound like Americans listening “English” from a Britton. It’s like listening to British actors speaking American English toward American demographic in movies. Other than that their dialect return to normal.

SUBSCRIBE

ABOUT ME

I’m Mac. I go places, eat food, do things, take pictures, and write words. If I have my way, then this journey is far from over; if I don’t, then it’s been fun. Find out more here!

ABOUT

Halfway Anywhere started out in 2011 as a way for me to share my travels with friends and family. Since then it has grown tremendously into a not only a collection of my own stories and travels, but as a resource for anyone looking to step into the world of adventure.

My mission is to provide and share information gathered from firsthand experience to make travel more accessible to everyone looking to escape those prohibitive zones of comfort.